Gil Student has a humorous post on the publicity blitz due with his upcoming "500,000th hit." In it, he writes:
"A base censor, a rabbinic coward" — Shmarya, a pseudonymous blogger
In the comments to that post, an anonymous poster questions Rabbi Student:
Shmarya is a pseudonym? I thought that was his real name.
To which Rabbi Student replies:
No, [...]
Even as Israel continues to promise the Falash Mura and the American Jewish community that immigration will be stepped up, the actual numbers of those brought to Israel continues to fall.
Ha’aretz and Reuters report:
Thousands of Israelis of Ethiopian origin marched in Jerusalem on Sunday to protest against a delay in plans to bring their relatives [...]
Rubashkins’ pollution problem: Postville, Iowa; Allentown, PA.
Sandee Brawarsky of the New York Jewish Week reviews the new book "The Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels."
An Ethiopian righteous gentile is up for deportation from Israel. No amount of first-hand testimony from those he has helped save seems to be sufficient for Israel’s Interior Ministry, which also claims the Ethiopian did not serve in the IDF – even though he has his IDF ID, discharge papers and the testimony of those [...]
Orthodox nursing home magnet Rabbi Morris Esformes has been sanctioned by the State of Illinois. His nursing homes have been under fire for years, with abuse and negligence alleged to be rampant.
[Hat tip: JWB]
Ha’aretz reports on chicken-raising in Israel:
Arik Ben Moshe, chief nutritionist at the Amir-Dagan feed mill, said the source of protein in the chicken feed is grains, feathers, and sterilized meal mead from bodies of chicken, fish and meat. After the outbreak of mad cow disease, these meals were prohibited for use in cow feed, but [...]
Iran’s president called yesterday for Israel to "wiped off the map." Russia, who is reported to be helping Iran achieve nuclear technology, is refusing to join in condemnation of Iran’s stand. Russia also is refusing to sanction Syria for its role in the assassination of Lebanon’s prime minister. As usual, Chabad’s ‘chief rabbi’ of Russia [...]
Y-Net reports:
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men rioted Tuesday night in Jerusalem’s Shabbat Square, stoning police and injuring four officers.
One officer was taken to Shaare Zedek hospital in the capital, and four people were arrested, including three teens. Several civilians were hurt promptly treated at the scene. Several cars were also damaged in the riots.
Police believe the [...]
The JTA has more on the scandal surrounding Ukraine’s many chief rabbis:
Yakov Dov Bleich, a U.S.-born rabbi and member of the Karlin-Stoliner Chasidic group, has been widely recognized as chief rabbi of both Kiev and Ukraine since 1992.
Bleich, 41, a pioneer of Jewish renaissance in post-Communist Ukraine, was never properly elected, yet he [...]
Two rival Satmar factions fought in shul in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY on Simhat Torah. Police broke up the rumble before it could turn into a full-fledged riot. This is the community whose Beit Din is entrusted by NYC’s mayor to ‘investigate‘ metzitza b’peh.
UPDATE: More fighting in Williamsburg.
Ha’aretz has a review of Natan Sharansky’s book on democracy, which has just come out in Hebrew translation. Ha’aretz summarizes Sharansky’s thought:
According to Sharansky … the world is divided between free societies and fear societies. Fear societies … must create outside enemies to ensure the loyalty and cooperation of the masses. Hence, if the free [...]
Ha’aretz has a disturbing report about the desecration of Jewish cemeteries in Ethiopia. Locals dig up Jewish bones and trade them, believing that they have the power to cure illness. They also use the land to grow crops. Locals have extorted large sums of money from Ethiopian Jews trying to protect the cemeteries and have [...]
Paul Shaviv has some interesting thoughts about this quote attributed to the haredi yeshiva world’s number two ‘gadol,’ Rabbi Aryeh Leib Shteinman by (the Israeli) Yated Ne’eman:
"Most of the world is evil," said Steinman, "especially the gentiles, most of whom are robbers, murderers, thieves and all the bad things. They have no justice or integrity."
Yes, [...]
